Lid seaming machine



April 19, 1938. F. O. L. CHORLTON ET AL 2,114,484

LID SEAMING MACHINE Filed June '7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 19, 1938.F. o. l.. cHoRLToN ET AL LID SEAMING MACHINE Filed June 7, 1937 4Sheets-Sheet 2 J0 JL pril 19, w38, F. o. L. cHoRLToIN E1- AL' 2,114,484

LID SEAMING MACHINE Filed June '7, 1937 4 SheebS-Sheel'l 3 April 19,1938. F. o. i.. cHoRLToN Er AL 2,114,454

LI'D SEAMING MGHINEq Filed June 7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr.19, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Lm sEAMING MACHINE Frank Oscar LeviChorlt on and Herbert Mayscn,

Bury, England; said Mayson assignor to said Chorlton 10 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to machines, forseaming lids on cans or like containers, of the type comprising asealing chamber Within which the seaming operation takes place in vacuoor in an inert gas, said sealing chamber being provided with a doorwhich is opened for the introduction of the vcan and is closed duringthe seaming operation, a fluid control valve adapted during a seamingoperation to connect the sealing chamber to a source of subatmosphericpressure or inert gas, means for positioning and supporting thecontainers for rotation relatively to a seaming means, and a containerrotating mechanism connected or adapted to be connected to a source ofmotive power, the seaming operation being effected by the rotation ofthe can with the lid in position thereon, about the axis of the can, andin engagement with a seaming means.

An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient andinexpensive machine of the type above referred to, which, with theexception of the power-operated means for rotating the can andmaintaining the sub-atmospheric air pressure or the pressure of theinert gas, is hand-operated.

Another object is to provide a machine of the type above referred toaccording to which the actuated parts of each of the several means forclosing the sealing chamber door, for operating the uid control valve,and for positioning the containers for rotation relatively to theseaming means are arranged in proximity to a single manually operablelever and are all actuated thereby, the sequence of the severaloperations being automatically determined by interlocking means.

Other objects and features of the invention will be pointed out in thefollowing specific description.

The invention will be further described with reference to theaccompanying drawings which show one example of a seaming machine forseaming a lid onto a can in vacuo, and incorporating an operating andcontrol mechanism according to the present invention. In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the complete machine,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation, to an enlarged scale, ofa clutch mechanism through which rotation of the can at the appropriatetime is eifected, Y

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the hand operating mechanism bywhich the various operations are eiected in sequence,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation on the line IV-IV of Figure 1,but with the hand lever pulled down to the position of closing thesealing chamber door and just prior to lateral movement to operate thesuction valve,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the sequence of positions of theoperating mechanism when it is moved from the position shown in Figure 1to effect a seaming operation on kthe can,

Figures 6 and 7 are respectively front and side elevations of themachine, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary View of a modification.

Referring to the drawings (Figures 1-7) the machine comprises a baseframe I0 on which is mounted a hollow column II supporting a sealingchamber I2 adapted to be closed by a sliding door I3. During a, seamingoperation the can and lid are supported in the chamber I2 between anaxially movable table or chuck I4 and a freely rotatable axially fixedchuck I5, and the seaming operation is eiected by means of one or moreseaming rollers I B. The rollers I6 are mounted on an arm I6*ab on ashaft Iiib and are moved against the action of a spring I 6C. The chucksI4 and I5 are journalled in gas-tight bearings and the chuck I4 isrotated to effect rotation of a can during the seaming operation from amotor I1 through a friction clutch comprising a constantly rotatingelement I9 and an axially movable element 20, a V-pulley I9a on theelement I9 being driven from a V-pulley I'Ia on the motor I1 through arope or V-belt 2l passing over jockey guide pulleys 23 and 24,adjustable by means of any suitable form of screw device 25 to vary thetension of the belt. The motor I'I also drives a suction pump 26connected by a conduit 21 to the hollow column II which constitutes asuction reservoir, and the 7sealing chamber I2 is put in communicationwith the suction reservoir as hereinafter described by means of anaxially slidable piston valve 28 (see Figure 4) controlling thepassageways 29, 30, and the port 28b opening to atmosphere, the end ofthe passageway y30 communicating with the interior of the column IIthrough a chest 3| mounted on the upper part of said column. The port28b is closed bythe part 28a of the valve 28 when the latter moves toput the chamber into communication with the exhausting means.

After a can tted with a lid which is to be seamed to the can has beenplaced on the chuck I4, the door I3 is closed and the chuck I4 is raisedso as to bring the upper part of the can with the lid in positionthereon into proximity with the chuck I5, after which the valve 28 isoperated to connect the chamber I2 to the vacuum reservoir and theclutch element 20 is brought into engagement with the clutch element i9to effect rotation of the chuck I4 and thereby of the can which is nowfirmly gripped between the chucks i4 and |5. The lid is generally dishedto receive the chuck l5 by which it is centered on the can.

This sequence of operations is effected from a single hand controlmechanism comprising a hand-operated main lever 32. The hand-operatedlever 32 is mounted on a rock shaft 33 carried in fixed bearings 35supported by brackets 36; the bore of the lever is substantially greaterthan the diameter of the shaft and the lever is connected to the shaftby a transverse pivot pin 34; the lever therefore is capable of movement(which will be termed the primary movement) in a plane at right anglesto the axis of the shaft 33, and thereby impart angular movement to theshaft, or to have secondary movement -in a plane at right angles to thepivot 34 without imparting angular movement to the shaft 33. A lever 31is loosely mounted on the shaft and is connected to the door i3 by thelinks l5.

There is keyed to the shaft 33 a lever 38 which isV connected by aconnecting rod 39 to a bellcrank lever 49, 4D. The chuck I4 is moved toposition the container and is connected to` the driving element i9 ofthe clutch by the movement of the arm 45' of the lever 43, 45', thearrangement being as followsz--The clutch member 23 has a sleeve 41which is mounted in a bearing 41a so as to be capable of rotation andaxial movement therein, the clutch member I8 is rotatably mounted in thefixed bearing l!!a by which it is held against axial movement; thebearing I9a has a hollow bore through which passes a spindle 45, theupper end of which is connected to the chuck i4, said spindle beingaxially movable relatively to the sleeve but being feathered or splinedthereon so as to be rotated by the sleeve and clutch member 20.

rIhe sleeve 41 is extended so` as to form a coupling 45 and a head 45aof the spindle engages a shoulder 45h of the coupling; the interior ofthe coupling is screw-threaded so as to take a hollow screw-threaded nut48 having an internally projecting flange, and a spring 49 is interposedbetween the said ange and the face of the head 45a of the spindle 45.Axial movement is irnparted to the coupling 46 by the arm 40 of thebellcrank lever through a spring connecting rod comprising two portions4 l, 42 mounted in a casing 44 in which they are movable axially butmaintained in axial alignment, and are pressed apart by a spring 43, thepart 4| is pivotally connected to the arm 40', and the upper end 42 ispivotally connected to a part 45a housed in the coupling 45 which latteris capable of rotation but not of axial movement relatively to the part4|.

The rocking lever 31 which is loosely journalled on the rock shaft 33 iscoupled to the door i3 through links 50 and is operatively connected tothe hand lever 32 through a gate device 5| formed on the lever 31 andhaving an aperture through which the hand lever S2 projects, theaperture comprising a slot 52 and alateral recess 53 which provides anabutment 54 for the lever as shown in Figure 4. The engagement of thedoor with the bottom of the door aperture will limit the downwardmovement of the lever 31 and the gate but if desired a pin or Vthe likefixed lon the frame of the machine may be provided to limit movement ofthe gate.

The hand lever 32 is restrained in the lateral recess 53 by an arm 32a,see Fig. 6, until the hand lever 32 has moved to the position in whichthe door is closed (that is tosay, the position shown in Figure 4), whenthe hand lever 32 reaches this position it is free of the restrainingmeans 32SL and can move clear o-f thel abutment 54 to undergo itssecondary movement for operating the valve controlling the exhausting ofthe sealing chamber. The passageway 29, 30 in the wall of the sealingchamber which connects the interior ofthe sealing chamber with thereservoir 3| is arranged so that the two parts 29 and 3S are laterallydisplaced on opposite sides of a cylindrical bore which intersects thepassageway, and in which slides a piston valve 2S, 28a. The bore has aport 28b leading to the atmosphere.

When the valve is in its extreme right position, that shown in Figure 4,the interior of the sealing chamber communicates through the .upper part29 of the passageway, the bore and the port 28b with the atmosphere, thepart of the passageway 3B leading to the reservoir 3| being closed bythe part 28 of the valve; when the valve is movedto its extreme leftposition, the reservoir 3| communicates with the interior of the sealingchamber |2 through the passageway 29, 30, the'part 28a of the Valveclosing the port` 28b before the passageway is opened.

The piston valve 28 is adapted to be slid axially in a Valve chamber 55to put the parts of the passageway 29, 30, into and out ofcommunicapivoted at 51 on the frame of the2 machine and its tail 56a isconnected to. the piston valve through the pivot pin 58. The upper partof the lever 56 bears against one side of the hand lever tion with eachother, by means of `a lever 55A 32 as shown in Figure 4, so that whensaid handV lever is moved angularly about its pin 34 and laterally withrespect to the rock shaft 33 to bring the hand lever out of engagementwith the abutment 54 of the gate, the lever 55 is rocked about its pivotto move the piston valve 28 to put the ports 29 and 30 intocommunication with each other. The return movement of the piston valvemay if necessary be effected by springs.

The operation of the machine above is as followsr-v A can which mayinitially be located on the table 59 is placed on the chuck I4 and thehand lever 32 is pulled down from the position shown in Figure 1 to thatshown in full lines in Figure 5. This movement of the hand lever throughthe engagement thereof with the abutment 54 of the gate, moves the lever31 into the position shown in full lines in Figure 5, and thereby closesthe door I3. At the same time the lever 38 is moved by the rock shaft soas to effect an initial elevation of the chuck |4 so as to bring the canwith the lid in position thereon into close proximity with the chuck I5.This movement of the lever 38 is not sufflcientto bring the clutchelement 2li into engagement with the driven element I9 and the handlever 32 is now moved laterally out of engagement with the abutment 54of the gate, therebyoperating the lever 56 and valve 28 to exhaust thechamber l2,` after which the hand lever can be given a further downwardmovement in the slot 52 so as to bring the clutch element intoengagement with the clutch element i9 vto transmit a drive to the chuck|4 between which and the chuck l5, the can is firmly held and rotated.The seaming rollersA I6 of-which there described may be two, are thenbrought successively into engagement with the upper edge of the can andthe edge of the lid by means of a hand lever 60 v to form the seam,after which the hand lever 32 can be released and will return to theposition shown in Figure l under the action of a, weight 6I, thuslowering the chuck I4, disengaging the clutch I8, closing the valve 28and finally opening the door I3.

It will be appreciated from the above description that the presentinvention provides a very simple operating mechanism for eiecting avacuum seaming operation on a can, the various operations being eectedby only two manually operated members, namely, the lever 32 and thelever 60 and furthermore the operations effected through the lever 32take place in the correct sequence and independently of the operator. f

In the modification shown in Figure 6 the upper chuck is rotated fromthe motor I'I in a similar manner to the lower chuck in the arrangementshown in Figure 1. The spindle Ia of the upper chuck has splined on itone element 20a of a clutch, the other element I9a of which is freelyjournalled on the spindle I5a and is driven from the motor I'I 'by meansof the belt 2l. Movement of the clutch element 2l!a into and out ofengagement with the element |98 is effected by the hand lever 32 througha lever 62 xed on the rocking shaft 33, a link 63 and a bell-crank-lever64 pivoted on a bracket mounted on the sealing chamber I2. The lowerchuck is rotatably supported and is adjustable axially to position a canand hold it in driving engagement with the upper chuck I5 in a mannersimilar to that shown in Figure 1.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a machine of the type specified, the combination with a sealingchamber having an opening through which the containers are introducedand having a passageway through its wall; a door closing the saidopening; a valve closing the said passageway; seaming means within thechamber; means for positioning the containers in relation to the seamingmeans; and means for rotating the positioned container; of a mainoperating part connected to the door, the positioning means and thevalve, and being movable by hand in a primary direction, and alsomovable by hand in a secondary direction, said primary movement closingthe door and operating the positioning means, and said secondarymovement opening the valve.

2. In a machine of the type specified, the combination with a sealingchamber having an opening through which the containers are introducedand having a passageway through its wall; a door closing the saidopening; a lever for actuating the door; a valve closing the saidpassageway; seaming means within the chamber; means for positioning thecontainers in relation to the seaming means; and means for rotating thepositioned container; of a main operating lever connected to the dooractuating lever, the positioning means and the valve, and being movableby hand in a primary direction and also movable by hand in a secondarydirection, said primary movement operating the door actuating lever andthe positioning means, and said secondary movement opening the valve;and a gate-lock device interposed between the door actuating lever andthe main operating lever, said gate-lock having a transversely disposedlocking part which, when the operating lever has, by primary movement,been moved from its initial position until it has closed the door,prevents the further primary movement being imparted to the operatedlever until the secondary movement to open the valve has been impartedthereto.

3. In a machine of the type specified, the combination with a sealingchamber having an opening through which the containers are introducedand having a passageway through its wall; a door closing the saidopening; a lever for actuating the door; a valve closing the saidpassageway; seam-` member connected to the chuck,.and an axially.

movable chuck and clutch actuating member to impart axial movement tothe chuck to position it, and axial movement tothe driven clutch memberto cause engagement of the clutch; of a main operating lever connectedto the door actuating' lever, the chuck and clutch actuating member andthe valve, and being movable by hand in a primary direction and alsomovable by hand in a secondary direction, said primary movement closingthe door and operating the chuck and` clutch actuating member, and thesecondary mov-ement opening the valve; and a gate-lock device interposedbetween the door actuating lever and the main operating lever, saidgate-lock having a transversely disposed locking part which, when theoperating lever has, by primary movement, been moved from its initialposition until it has closed the door, prevents the further primarymovement being imparted to the operating lever until the secondarymovement to open the valve has been imparted thereto.

4. The combination with the elements in claim 3, a sleeve connected toan axially movable driven part of the clutch; said sleeve having anextension forming a coupling unit to which axial movement is imparted bythe main operating.

handle; a spindle splined in the sleeve, one end being connected to thechuck and the other end having a head one face of which engages ashoulder of the sleeve; and a spring interposed between the other faceof the head of the spindle l and a second shoulder in the coupling unit.

5. The combination with the elements claimed in claim 2, of a fixedlocking piece adapted to engage the main operating lever and to preventsecondary movement being imparted to it while it is being moved in aprimary direction from its initial position to a position in which ithas closed the door.

6. The combination with the elements claimed in claim 3, of a iixedlocking piece adapted to engage the main operating lever and to preventsecondary movement being imparted to it while it is being moved in aprimary direction from its initial position to a position in which ithas closed the door.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the sealing chamber isprovided with a cylindrical bore intersecting the passageway through itswall., in which the said passageway is divided by the bore into twolaterally displaced portions on opposite sides of the bore, Aand inwhich a port, and in its other extreme position toclose the said portand to open both parts of the passageway.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the sealing chamber isprovided with a cylindrical bore intersecting the passageway throughitswall, in which the said passageway is divided by the bore into twolaterally displaced portions on opposite sides of the bore, and in whicha port opening into the bore is connected to the atmosphere; and inwhich the Valve is a piston valve reciprocated axially by the mainoperating lever and fitting the said cylindrical bore, adapted in theone extreme position to close the part Vof the passageway remote fromthe sealing chamber and to connect the part of the passageway openinginto the sealing chamber to the said port, and in its other extremeposition to close the said port and `to open both parts of thepassageway.

9. In a machine of the type specified, the cornbination with a sealingchamber having an opening through which the lcontainer is introduced,vand having a passageway through its wall; a

door closing the said opening; a valve closing the said passageway;seaming means within the chamber; means for positioning the containersin relation to the seaming means; and means for rotating the positionedcontainer; of a main operating shaft; a main operating lever pivotallyconnected to the said shaft by a transverse pivot; a lever keyed to theshaft and connected to the said positioning means; a lever connected tothe door and loosely mounted on the said shaft; a gate-lock deviceconnecting the loosely mounted lever to the main operating lever; and alever in proximity to the main lever which is actuated to close thevalve by secondary movement of the main operating lever about thetransverse pivot thereof.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the connection between theoperating lever and the coupling extension of the clutch sleeve is madethrough a bellcrank lever, one arm of which is actuated by the operatinglever, and the other arm of Which is connected by a resilient connectingrod to the coupling extension.

FRANK OSCAR LEVI CHORLTON. HERBERT MAYSON.

